Sunday, December 07, 2008

Boogy Boarding Debut

Last weekend was Lowell and my boogy boarding debut in New Zealand. We went to Murawai beach (on the west coast) which is a mere 20 minute drive from our home. (We first visited this black sand beach in chilly August).

disclaimer: I feel obligated to warn you that this visit was during Movember, so the beauty of some of these photos is marred by a certain someone's mustache. Gross.

And also, these pictures do not do the thrill of the experience justice. The water looks so calm in many of the pictures, but it WASN'T. We were being tossed all over the place!

Gettin ready to catch a wave!

I'm on my way out! The waves were so constant that it was a bit of a task to get far enough out without being forced back to shore by the powerful waves!

The water was still wet-suit appropriate (i.e., COLD), but the black sand was unbearably hot hot HOT. I can't imagine what the sand will be like in the dead heat of summer. I'm going to need to develop some serious callouses (either that or invest in appropriate foot wear).

We had so much fun breaking in our boogy boards (although the inevitable mouthfuls of salt water took some getting used to).

Since our exciting adventure, we've been shamelessly bragging about it to anyone who would listen. Our excitement has usually been met with gaping jaws and "WHAT?! MURAWAI!??!!? Please tell me you at LEAST swam between the flags!" Um....well...no.

In our defense, the flags were so close together that we thought it was a joke, and plopped ourselves elsewhere as we pleased. Well, apparently west coast beaches, and specifically Murawai, have a reputation for being DANGEROUS and the closer the flags are together, the more dangerous the rest of the beach is. OOPS.

For the record, we weren't the only dim bulbs out there- it was a heavily populated beach with people everywhere! We were riding the same waves as many locals.

Rumour has it that no one has ever died while swimming between the flags, but people die every year swimming elsewhere. Well, NOW WE KNOW, and we shall live to share many more boogy boarding experiences!

4 comments :

m+K said...

Can't wait to boogie board with you guys and I will stay within the flags!! Also, I don't know if you see the ads on your blog but there is some freaky teeth whitening ad underneath this post that looks like Lowell posed for during Movember. I think they just have a dark moustache to highlight how white ones teeth can get. Lowell, good on you for posing for ads on your blog! ;)

Bloggy Mama said...

FUN!!! SO glad that you were not telling this story with a sad ending.. waves scare me. Also, I'll give a giant haha for Movember ;)

Jen said...

I'm glad you had such a great experience on your 1st time boogie boarding. Mine didn't end up so well...my bikini top almost got ripped off by the wave. Just a bit awkward - at least we were in a foreign country and we didn't know anyone. Needless to say that was the last time I went boogie boarding... :)
Jen (Lowell's 2nd(?) cousin)

Susan said...

That sounds like so much fun!! It's so beautiful there! Darcen and I are already anticipating the spring when we'll head back out to the ocean to boogie board some more.

Oh, we just watched Prince Caspian and I loved it! I was a huge fan of the books growing up, so it was great seeing the movie. Thanks for the recommendation. :)